Poll

POS Concerned That Monitoring s106 At Risk Following High Court Ruling

Date: 27/2/2015

A High Court ruling has called into question a widespread practice in which councils use developer contributions to fund the monitoring of s106 agreements.

Graham Jones, the POS Subject Specialist for CIL and Infrastructure Matters, said ongoing s106 requirements that need monitoring throughout construction and potentially beyond can be "quite onerous" for councils. He added, "In the hard-pressed world of local government, any contribution towards the costs is very welcome."

Jones continued that it is "good practice" for councils to have monitoring staff to oversee payments, saying that many employ a full-time officer who is often funded by these charges. Jones was concerned that this function could be put at risk following the ruling. "The main point is about the potential loss of income and therefore the risk that monitoring won't be done as robustly as it has in the past," he added.